It was still close to incredible to believe he'd stood there beside Zyl, stark naked, and talked to a bevy of reporters. Who would have thought? And last, definitely best of all, Zyl was back and they were together. Zyl had chosen to come with him instead of going with the local Were cell to plan, rehash and celebrate. Every intuitive sense told him they had a bond building, one that stood a good chance to last a lifetime.
He didn't think he had ever been happier. As he tugged on Zyl's hand to lead his new lover and partner back to the bedroom, it still felt like a first. He suspected the other night had been mostly about his first foray into the shifter world, but this was not. This was all about them.
Zyl stopped, pulling free. "Okay, so what do you want? What do you need? I'll do anything you ask. I mean, I got mine. I turned selfish and rough, more beast than gentleman there, but I couldn't help myself. I'll try not to let that happen again. You say I didn't hurt you, and I hope to hell you are not lying."
Carl shook his head. "I'll never lie to you, Zyl. I know shifters can mind-read, at least some, so you could check if you want to, but I'll never tell you anything that's not true."
"I'd never mind-read you. Friends and partners don't do that. There has to be trust."
Again, Carl nodded. "I know that. I think Were-kind is basically a lot more ethical than humans. That makes me proud to be a member. I know I've got a lot to learn, have to prove myself to the others, but with you beside me there isn't much I can't do."
Zyl smiled. "You'll learn to stand on your own four feet, too, even when you're in you man-skin. But right now, I'm going to do something--either what you want or just by guess and by gods if you won't say."
Carl threw himself down on the bed. "I'm ready. Do me."
Zyl followed him down, sprawling half across him and reaching between their bodies to grasp Carl's cock, while his mouth began urgent forays across first Carl's face and then down his torso. Nip, lick, kiss, nibble, explore. It didn't take long for Carl to be twitching and twisting as heat built in him. His prick, in Zyl's deft hand, hardened to an iron rod, burning and aching.
Carl gave a moaning purr and struggled to frame his request. "Eat me. Take me in your mouth and give me the most amazing blowjob there ever was. I know you can."
And Zyl did exactly that. It took forever, yet not half long enough, before Carl shot off like a rocket. His partner stayed with him until the last spasm and jerk, until Carl went limp and almost melted into the mattress in sated collapse.
Only then did Zyl draw free and slide up to lie side by side, gathering Carl into a tight embrace. He was amazed how a muddle of catastrophes could end up in something as incredible as this. Many challenges lay ahead, but now he welcomed them. Together, two Were felines would triumph.
As he drifted off to sleep, Carl would have sworn they half-shifted to cuddle, warmed by two spotted coats, yet keeping most of their human traits intact.
Deirdre O'Dare, who also writes milder (roughly PG-13 rated) romance as Gwynn Morgan, has loved reading and writing since early childhood. Writing came naturally to Deirdre/Gwynn, who scribed her first simple verse at age eight. An avid reader, she devoured hundreds of books while growing up and later as an adult. Somewhere along the way she found romance and then romance with more explicit and detailed love scenes. "Ah ha," said she, "I think I have found my niche!" In the last decade after leaving her "day job" as a civilian employee of the U. S. Army, she finally settled into romantic fiction writing as a second career. Deirdre has a growing number of shorts and novellas, all published by Amber Quill in the Heat and Allure imprints.
With Irish and Welsh ancestry on both sides of her family, Deirdre has always been enthralled by the history and customs of the Celtic peoples as they have come down to us. The Mother Goddess idea particularly resonates with her as well as the notion that physical expressions of love between consenting couples are both a divine gift and a sacred duty to honor the Mother. Deirdre admits her favorite heroes are cops, cowboys and Celts--with futuristic denizens, aliens and those with super powers close behind.
First-year Border Patrol officers Rhys Davis and Liam Malone have been friends since second grade. When their new assignment puts them on the front line in tracking down a vicious and inhuman killer, an unearthly Soul-Eater, along the southern border, they must call on every resource at their disposal.
The most potent of these resources turns out to be memories they share from two thousand years ago, a time in the British Isles when they were partners in every way, forming an eternal bond that allowed them to defeat this same enemy in that lifetime.
Now, Rhys and Liam can't help but wonder...will crossing the line from friends to lovers in this lifetime destroy their friendship or build on it?